According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Maren saw a distinct increase in usage during the second half of the 2010s:
- 2019: 610 baby girls named Maren [rank: 515th]
- 2018: 498 baby girls named Maren [rank: 606th]
- 2017: 465 baby girls named Maren [rank: 635th]
- 2016: 291 baby girls named Maren [rank: 942nd]
- 2015: 230 baby girls named Maren
What was influencing the name?
Country singer Maren Morris.
Her breakout single, “My Church,” was released in January of 2016. It peaked at #5 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart in March, at #50 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in April, and went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance in early 2017.
Two of her follow-up singles, “80s Mercedes” and “I Could Use a Love Song,” also reached the Hot 100.
The name Maren was most popular during the first years of the 2020s, following Morris’ two biggest hits: the dance-pop collaboration “The Middle,” which peaked at #5 in the spring of 2018, and the pop/country crossover “The Bones,” which peaked at #12 in the spring of 2020.
So, how did Maren Morris (who was born in Texas in 1990) get her name?
Here’s what she told radio host Bobby Bones during a recent interview:
I think I was originally going to be called Bailey, and my mom was watching an old episode of Battlestar Galactica, and one of the actresses’ names (…) was Maren something — Maren Jensen, I think. And she’s like, “Oh, that goes good with Morris.” And so, yeah, it’s not a stage name — that is my name. I think it’s a variation of Mary. I’ve looked up that it means “of the sea,” so maybe like marine.
What are your thoughts on the name Maren?
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